Was there a boy - where did the phrase come from? "The meaning of the expression Was the boy where the phrase came from.

Sometimes, in the middle of a conversation, a person may use a phrase that seems completely meaningless in this situation. An example of this: "Was there a boy?" - where does the phrase come from, and how can it relate, for example, to the search for a screwdriver lost in the garage?

Quote from Boris Godunov

The history of our state has more than one hundred years. One can recall examples of good rulers and not so good ones, moments of greatness and decline. Opinions about reign of Ivan the Terrible they go completely different, but every Russian knows at least something about this autocrat:

1. The king had a wife, whom he exiled to a distant monastery, since she could not bear him an heir.
2. Quite suddenly, the exiled wife gave birth to a child.
3. Wanting to strengthen his position, Godunov tried to find out Is it so? Not personally, of course, with the help of his people.
4. A couple of months later, the capital was shocked by new news - the baby died, falling on knives.
5. Already in those days, such statements were met, to put it mildly, with distrust.
6. Trying to whitewash himself, Boris Godunov first used the very phrase about the boy.
7. It is possible that no child really existed. It's just that the wife tried to take revenge on her husband, in such an unpretentious way.

In any case, all such statements are already impossible to check. Often such stories come from literary rather than historical sources. And then go understand, the author had fun with his fantasy or described real facts.

Words by Maxim Gorky

In the twentieth century, our "boy" appeared in one of Gorky's works. It was written and published already in Soviet Russia, many read it: “ Life of Klim Samgin»:

• One of the frosty winter days, the main character went to the river.
• He took two children with him, a girl and a boy.
• There were problems with looking after children at all times, so Klim did not notice the kids, they went under water and drowned.
• Subsequently, only a girl was found, and the boy literally disappeared.
• This was enough for the characters to wonder - was there a boy?

A little naive, stupid and kind of cruel, given all the suffering of the protagonist. But on the other hand, where could the body have gone? The river is small, sooner or later it had to endure somewhere. If this did not happen, maybe the boy really did not exist?

Maybe, having experienced such a nervous shock, Klim's consciousness simply came up with another child, as an additional hope? In any case, you need to know the classics of Russian literature, so acquaintance with this work is recommended to everyone. It is only necessary to take into account that Gorky wrote not the most cheerful and life-affirming books.

On the other hand, the reverse side of society and the failures of the heroes can serve as an incentive for the reader to be active and fruitful.

Pugacheva's album and the meaning of the statement

The modern pop singer Pugacheva also gave her tribute to national history and literature. One of her albums is called: “Was there a boy?”.

Such are the features of modern culture, everyone is trying to show that he knows something, to demonstrate his all-round development. However, the phrase was popularized and entered into use by most of the population.

Now it is used:

1. When trying to express doubt.
2. When they do not believe what the interlocutor says.
3. When they try to demonstrate their inability to find something and solve the problem.
4. When strangers are discussed with skepticism.

If they say this in response to some of your statements, it is not a sin to be offended by this. Of course, you can give some additional arguments, use all your persuasiveness and make them bow to your conclusions. But it’s better to quickly put a person in his place, why would the interlocutor even doubt the veracity of your words or the adequacy of perception? At least it's not very pretty.

What was good about raising Spartan boys?

At all times, boys did not have so much fun, even if they did not fall on knives. In Sparta, falls were even more dangerous, because sometimes newborns were thrown right off the mountain. But only if the child had visible defects or was weak and sickly.

And the survivors sometimes envied the dead, because the education system in the ancient city-state was not for sissies:

Now modern children can only be glad that no one is raising them in such harsh conditions. Fortunately, times are very different now. Although, recently the number of "hot spots" on the planet has increased dramatically. And we are talking not only about some distant lands.

Was it really a boy?

When asked about the origin of the phrase can be answered in three ways And:

• Godunov said it, justifying the "accident" with the fall of the queen's child on knives.
• This is a quote from Maxim Gorky. Read his Life of Klim Samgin.
• This is how Alla Pugacheva called one of her albums.

In principle, already by what answer the interlocutor gives, we can draw some conclusions about him. But do not hastily judge people, because the majority uses figurative expressions and catchphrases, without even thinking about the original meaning and origins of origin.

It's hard to blame them, because Russian language is multifaceted, and our culture is too rich to know all the quotes of great people. So do not be sad and do not be ashamed of not knowing something, there is nothing to be ashamed of. If you want to learn something new - that's great, such a desire compensates for many gaps and shortcomings.

We often use figurative expressions, for example: “Was there a boy?” - where the phrase only historians will tell. And even then they will not be 100% sure, given how many centuries have passed since the death of Godunov.

Video about the meaning of the phrase

In this video, Anton and Peter Starousovs will talk about the meaning of the phrase “Were there a boy?”, Why and in what situations it is used:

The expression "Was there a boy?" you can often hear when they doubt the fact of what happened or even the real existence of the very subject of the conversation and make it clear that they leave the deception on the conscience of the speaker.

Where does the expression "Was there a boy?"

The work of Maxim Gorky gave us more than one or two stable expressions that entered the Russian language and eventually became almost popular. "Was there a boy?" - one of them, which is an indirect quote from the novel "The Life of Klim Samgin". This question arises in a conversation between two characters, one of whom recalls a tragic incident from childhood, when children skating, a boy and a girl, fall through the ice. The girl is rescued, but the youth cannot be found. Painful memories that haunt the hero for many years lead to a paradoxical doubt about the authenticity of the boy's existence, and hence the sad event.

Sometimes curious parallels are also drawn between the use of this concept in the tragedy of A. S. Pushkin "Boris Godunov" ("And the boys are bloody in the eyes") and in the story of F. M. Dostoevsky "The Boy on the Tree at Christ" ("Children are a strange people, they dreaming and dreaming").

Today, the word "boy" in this expression is replaced by any other, the existence of which is thus denied. It is worth noting that the phrase is a phraseological unit (source: phraseology reference book of the Gramota.ru portal).

Was it a boy?- a stable expression of the Russian language, meaning the speaker's doubt in the very fact of the existence of the subject of discussion. Was there anything in reality, really? An expression of doubt about the authenticity of something.

History of phraseology

1. From the novel "The Life of Klim Samgin" (part 1, ch. 1) by Maxim Gorky (pseudonym of Alexei Maksimovich Peshkov, 1868-1936). The novel contains an episode from the childhood of the protagonist. The boy Klim and his comrades - Boris Varavka and Varya Somova - were skating. Suddenly the ice broke, and Boris and Varya were in the water. Klim tried to save them, handed Boris the end of his gymnasium belt, but, feeling that he was being pulled into the water, he let go of the belt. The children drowned. When the adults learned about the misfortune, the search for the drowned began, and Klim heard someone's serious, incredulous question that struck him:
“Was there a boy, maybe there wasn’t a boy.”

2. There is an opinion that the phrase was given to Gorky by Stalin. At some holiday, a boy approached Stalin and asked a question about the famine in Ukraine, although Stalin was waiting for congratulations on the successful collectivization. After that, both the boy and his family disappeared. It was then that Gorky, who heard all this and believed Stalin unlimitedly at that time, began to doubt the correctness of the chosen course, began to look for this boy, and people close to Stalin answered him: “Was there a boy?” This shocked Gorky so much that he played with this theme in the novel.

3. From the history. Belongs to Boris Godunov. After the death of Tsarevich Ivan, Ivan the Terrible had only one heir - Tsarevich Fedor, but he was in poor health. Boris Godunov managed to marry his sister, Irina, to him. At that time, Ivan the Terrible was married to the beautiful Solomonia Saburova, but she turned out to be barren and could not give the king an heir. For this she was sent into exile, to a distant monastery. But a few months later the news came from there that Solomonia had a son, Tsarevich Dmitry. Ivan the Terrible instructed Boris Godunov to look into this matter. Boris sent his people to the monastery, but they soon returned and reported the terrible news that supposedly the baby had accidentally fallen on a knife (scissors) and died. Many then attributed the “accidental death” of the baby to Boris Godunov, as the most interested in such an outcome, since after the death of Ivan the Terrible, Irina became the queen, and Boris himself became the de facto ruler of Russia, as the brother-in-law of the weak king. In general, this is how it turned out later. When Boris was accused of killing a baby, he excused himself: “Was there a boy?” at all. But until his death, Boris Godunov himself dreamed of "bloody boys" in his eyes. Until now, historians do not know whether Tsarevich Dmitry really was or not, or it was just Solomonia Saburova who so avenged the disgrace of Ivan the Terrible.

Sources:

• otvet.mail.ru - Was there a boy?
• en.wikipedia.org — Was there a boy?
• eslovar.com.ua - phraseological dictionary of the Russian literary language;
• onlineslovari.com - the meaning and interpretation of the phrase.

Additionally on Guenon:

The expression "Was there a boy?" quite common in Russian. We use it sometimes thoughtlessly, sometimes cautiously, completely without putting into it the meaning and meaning that were originally inherent in it. This phrase is usually used in similar circumstances, when it is implied that there is some doubt about the existence of a certain object. Thus, it is as if we are asking others about whether what we are talking about really existed.

Sometimes people repeat this expression referring to themselves. Meanwhile, many people are interested in where the phrase “Was there a boy?” Perhaps it was not invented on purpose and was not at all endowed with the meaning and significance that we attach at the present time.

Origin

Maxim Gorky in the novel "The Life of Klim Samgin" tells the story of a man who, after a long period of time, analyzes past events and realizes his guilt. The character does not find a way out of a difficult situation, because of his fault a small person dies. A mistake once made can no longer be corrected, but as a defensive reaction, the phrase arises: “Was there a boy?” Thus, the protagonist seeks to justify his own inaction and cowardice. The experiences of Klim Samghin, connected with the past, show how the desire to justify oneself, to rationalize any bad deeds, arises in a person. The character of the book realizes that he once behaved very unworthily, but he needs to maintain a tolerant attitude towards his own personality.

Researchers in the field of history claim that for the first time this expression was used in relation to Tsarevich Dmitry. Many blamed the death of the infant Boris Godunov, to which he quite openly asked with the following phrase: “Was there a boy? Who said he existed? As a result, we still do not know what the real truth of the development of events of the distant past is. This is where the phrase “Was there a boy”, so familiar to every person, comes from. Currently, people use it in different cases, sometimes completely out of place. It's just that everyone knows her, and everyone knows her.

Expression of doubt

When people use this expression in their speech, they most often do not think about why they pronounce it. What is leading them? It's just become a habit. When there is doubt about something, many begin to resort to the use of this particular combination of words, without thinking about where the phrase “Was there a boy?”

The indicated doubt through the use of this phrase most often implies a rhetorical question. That is, no one expects to hear the answer to such a well-known expression. It looks quite streamlined and coherent. It is noticed that when people hear it, they involuntarily begin to smile and smirk. Sometimes, after pronouncing this phrase, everything said earlier is perceived easier, it becomes akin to a joke.

Regret

Just as Klim Samghin was tormented by guilt for his long-standing act, people often resort to using this phrase in moments of serious internal torment. It allows them to close themselves from their own thoughts, not to hear the hysterical voice coming from the depths of the soul. When the problem already becomes obvious, certain thoughts begin to appear about the correctness of the decision once made. Regret becomes a kind of defensive reaction that allows you to at least somehow alleviate your emotional experiences.

If people do not want to reveal such an unsightly inner state to others, they immediately come up with an additional excuse for themselves, covered with regret. Otherwise, a person could not live the rest of his existence in peace, without strong remorse.

Guilt

By its nature, it is a serious burden on the psyche. In fact, guilt has a very destructive effect on a person. When there is no opportunity to somehow correct the situation, the best qualities begin to be suppressed, because they cannot be realized. Guilt drowns out even incredibly tremulous experiences and encourages a person to focus on negative moments.

Some people with the appearance of a certain dissatisfaction with themselves try to help other people in every possible way. This does not support in all cases, especially since a person often begins to take such steps unconsciously.

Instead of a conclusion

Thus, the roots of this expression are deeply historical. Maxim Gorky found an excellent use for him in his novel The Life of Klim Samgin, from where the phrase "Was there a boy?" and continued its development. Even those who have not read the book understand perfectly the meaning of the above statement. It just really speaks for itself. Today, the use of this expression is often found in the context of comparative analysis and reflects uncertainty about some events of the distant past.

Was it a boy?

Was it a boy?
From the novel "The Life of Klim Samgin" (part 1, ch. 1) by Maxim Gorky (pseudonym of Alexei Maksimovich Peshkov, 1868-1936). The novel contains an episode from the childhood of the protagonist. The boy Klim and his comrades - Boris Varavka and Varya Somova - were skating. Suddenly the ice broke, and Boris and Varya were in the water. Klim tried to save them, handed Boris the end of his gymnasium belt, but, feeling that he was being pulled into the water, he let go of the belt. The children drowned. When the adults learned about the misfortune, the search for the drowned began, and Klim heard “someone’s serious incredulous question” that struck him:
“Yes, was there a boy, maybe there was no boy.”
It is used: in case of doubts about the presence of the object itself, which gave cause for concern, trouble (iron.).

Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. - M.: "Lokid-Press". Vadim Serov. 2003 .

Watch what is "Was there a boy?" in other dictionaries:

Was it a boy? a stable expression of the Russian language, meaning the doubt expressed in the very fact of the existence of the subject of discussion. It goes back to a quote from Gorky's novel "The Life of Klim Samgin" (part 1, chapter 1, first published in 1927 ... ... Wikipedia

See Was there a boy? Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. Moscow: Locky Press. Vadim Serov. 2003 ...

In one of the episodes of the novel by M. Gorky, The Life of Klim Samgin (Part I, Ch. 1), the boy Klim is skating with other children. Boris Varavka and Varya Somova fall into a hole. Klim gives Boris the end of his ... ... Dictionary of winged words and expressions

Was it a boy?- Razg. Express. Was there anything really, really? An expression of doubt about the authenticity of something. When Krymov arrived at the studio, the meeting and conversation with Balabanov ... presented themselves as such humiliating, worthless revenge that ...... ... Phraseological dictionary of the Russian literary language

Was it a boy?- wing. sl. In one of the episodes of M. Gorky's novel "The Life of Klim Samgin" (Part I, Chapter 1,) tells about the boy Klim skating with other children. Boris Varavka and Varya Somova fall into a hole. Klim gives Boris the end of his ... ... Universal additional practical explanatory dictionary by I. Mostitsky

was it a boy?- an expression of extreme uncertainty about something. In M. Gorky's novel "The Life of Klim Samgin" there is an episode that describes the skating of the protagonist and two more children. Klim becomes a witness of how his ... ... Phraseology Handbook

Razg. An expression of extreme doubt about smth. F 1, 290. /i> From M. Gorky's novel "The Life of Klim Samgin" (1923-1936). BMS 1998, 364 ...

This term has other meanings, see Was there a boy?. Was it a boy? ... Wikipedia

BOY, ah, husband. 1. A male child. Boys and girls. 2. Servant teenager in a private house, in which n. institution, the owner of the master (obsolete). M. in a merchant's shop, in a hairdresser's, at a shoemaker's. Serve as a boy / in boys. M. on ... ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

Was it a boy? Razg. An expression of extreme doubt about smth. F 1, 290. /i> From M. Gorky's novel "The Life of Klim Samgin" (1923-1936). BMS 1998, 364. Star boy. Jarg. please, course. Shuttle. An officer. Maximov, 154. A boy for whipping (beatings ... Big dictionary of Russian sayings

Books

• Was it a boy? A Skeptical Analysis of Traditional History, Lev Shilnik. Is the traditional chronology correct? Do we understand antiquity correctly? How could tiny Hellas give the world so many brilliant names - philosophers, historians, sociologists, mathematicians, ...